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| Who is bleeding India? | | | | From West to Central India it was perhaps the turn of North East. Assam has been made to bleed profusely and so is the country. Thursday’s serial blasts at a number of places across Assam, which have killed a large number of ordinary people and injured many more, point to a criminal conspiracy by terrorists who have done a good deal of political homework, not just one relating to demonic logistics. This view suggests itself in the light of the targets chosen. Bombs exploded in crowded markets in Guwahati, the state capital, at Bongaigaon, where an important oil refinery is located, at Barpeta, an area where there is a concentration of the Muslim minority, and at Kokrajhar, home to the Bengali population and the tribal people. This apparently careful choice of the centre of politics and administration in the state, a key infrastructure centre, and places of minority interest of various types, indicates an attempt to create utter confusion not only at the state level but also to befuddle the Centre. In effect, this is a case of simultaneous assault on multiple fronts. Barely a fortnight ago Assam had seen serious violence involving descendants of Muslim immigrants from Bangladesh, local Assamese Muslims, and sections of the plain tribes. The authorities were expected to be on alert even if the immediate trouble had passed. It is therefore surprising that the state government was taken completely unawares. Assam is one of the country’s more complex regions where multiple contradictions coexist and are apt to erupt without much apparent provocation. With only a few months to go for the Lok Sabha elections, greater responsibility devolved on the state to be alert about tendencies wont to disturb the security situation in a border area. The United Liberation Front of Asom is a homegrown extremist outfit that has purveyed deadly terror numerous times in the past. Its trans-border operations are only too well known as the organisation has played cat’s paw to the jihadist HuJI of Bangladesh as well as Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. The government was required to keep an eye out for possible mischief from this source, as well as others. Clearly this has not happened. It is no surprise that ordinary people appear to be losing faith in the capacity of the government to protect them. In Guwahati, after the blasts in busy markets, people appeared to go on the rampage, attacking police vehicles, fire engines, ambulances, and the media. This extreme frustration is not a good augury and can only embolden troublemakers and demoralise the apparatus of administration. It is unfortunate that even senior politicians have begun finger-pointing on a serious occasion such as this. It is time the government called in the principal national and state parties for consultation. This is likely to serve as a confidence-building measure as far as ordinary citizens are concerned. |
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